Cat and Mouse
by video games and other stuff
Summary: Task Force 935 thought it was over, that Samantha was gone. They were wrong. Now she's back, and not even WWIII can get in the way of her goals! Sequel to my other story, "Survival". Featuring Task Force 935 and...Delta Force! Some OCs.
1. An Old Nemesis

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Call of Duty.**

**Hey everyone! This is the sequel to my other COD fanfic, "Survival". If you haven't read that, please do before reading this! Thanks.**

Cat and Mouse

Chapter 1

_**Group C outpost defensive base 1, Siberia**_

_**August 20, 2016, 11:46:52**_

"We're here. Stop the car," Price ordered. Yuri complied and their Humvee drew to a stop in the rubble strewn street. Along with the two were Soap, Nikolai the Pilot, Richtofen, Takeo, Dempsey, and Nikolai the Drunk. They had just escaped the Group C outpost where they had been forced to play Samantha's game. Samantha was now dead, thanks to Richtofen setting the base's self-destruct mechanism, and the eight were foraging for supplies and working out how to get out of Russia.

Doors slammed shut as Task Force 935, the name they had given themselves, got out of their vehicle. Nikolai the Drunk looked around and remarked, "This place looks like Stalingrad – all ruins and nothing else."

"Yeah, Samantha's army tore this place apart," Soap agreed.

"Okay, first things first," Price said. "Our top priorities are fuel, food and maps of the area. We'll split up into four pairs, each searching one area of this base. Soap, you're with me. Nikolai the Pilot's with Yuri, Richtofen with Takeo, and Dempsey with Nikolai the Drunk. We meet back here in about an hour."

"You seriously expect to find stuff here?" Dempsey said. "Everything's blown to hell and gone!"

"Looks can be deceiving, American," Richtofen replied. "Take zhe dozens zhat have looked down on me because I looked veak. Zhey all paid zhe price," he said with an evil smile.

"Oh yeah, don't forget your weapons," Price added. "Hostiles might still be here."

The pairs detached from each other and went off in their search. Takeo was keen to find something useful, as he didn't want to be "dishonorable". However, that was soon proving a challenge for all the pairs, as they found nothing but twisted scrap metal, half-collapsed buildings, and last but not least, dead bodies.

"If I had some 115…" Richtofen thought to himself as he shoved aside a dead soldier with his boot. But that was the past, decades ago. By now all traces and samples of the resurrecting element were probably locked up. Still, it would be nice to start over from the beginning…

Nikolai the Drunk was carefully examining shards of glass, bringing some up to his nose and sniffing them. Dempsey noticed and said, "Hey, watcha doing?"

"Looking for vodka," the Russian replied. "This base had Russians on it, so there has to be some here."

"You're hopeless," Dempsey said.

Yuri and Nikolai the Pilot had found almost nothing. The only interesting thing they had come across was a fuel dump, or what was left of it. Yuri shook his head and said, "This is impossible. All the fuel would have been shot and exploded from the firefight here."

"Well, let's see what's in that building," Nikolai the Pilot said. "It looks pretty intact."

The building in question was a small, rectangular thing. Miraculously, it was only marred by bullet holes and scratches. The door was locked, but by smashing in the door window, the two opened it from the inside and entered.

It was a CCTV monitoring room. Several computer screens were joined together at two walls, but one set was badly damaged from the battle of the base. Yuri used his radio piece to contact Price. "Price, Yuri here. Nikolai the Pilot's found a security station for CCTV cameras."

"Are the computers still functional?" Price asked.

Yuri tapped the keyboard of the intact computer set. The screens lit up. "Yes, they're on, but they need a password."

"Okay, tell Nikolai the Pilot to hack them and see if there's recorded footage from Samantha's attack."

"Copy." Yuri turned to his partner and repeated what Price had told him. Nikolai the Pilot smiled and said, "Knew he would say that." He sat down in a chair in front of the lead computer and went to work hacking it.

Soap was starting to get annoyed. Every building they had passed was either empty or almost empty. He and Price had found a grand total of one fuel can, which was half empty. Price was also getting frustrated, and kicked the ground.

"Dempsey was right. Everything is gone!"

"Let's just keep looking," Soap said, but secretly he also agreed with Price's statement.

Takeo could feel his honor dropping. For almost twenty minutes he and Richtofen had searched these ruins to no avail. He was about to admit dishonor before he spotted a smudged, wet map in the snow.

"My honor is restored!" he said, and picked up the valuable sheet of paper. Richtofen came over and took a look at it. "My, my, ve really are in zhe middle of novhere."

He was right. The map was of Russia, with major cities and towns marked on it. There was a blue dot with "Outpost" labelled beside it, and another blue dot to its north. That other dot was the closest thing to the outpost, and even then it was miles away.

Takeo straightened up and cocked his head to one side. "Vhat is it?" Richtofen asked.

"I think I hear a whirring sound…"

Nikolai the Drunk also heard the sound. "Hey American, you hear that?"

"Hear what?"

"That noise in the air, obviously!"

"That vodka's making you hear things. Get back to searching!"

Soap and Price were sifting through what could have been a barrack when the whirring sound reached their ears. However, unlike the four zombie killers who were relatively unfamiliar with modern weapons, this pair immediately knew what that sound was. The shout came from both of them at the same time: "Helicopters!"

Yuri and Nikolai the Pilot were the only ones that didn't hear the helicopters, as they were inside the security station. Nikolai the Pilot had worked his computer magic and the screens displayed squares where, normally, live feed from the cameras would appear. But now, each square was black and had the words, "ERROR: CAMERA DISCONNECTED" scrawled across it.

"Let's see…Samantha attacked on August 13, so that's seven days ago," Yuri said. Nikolai the Pilot went to the footage for that day.

"What time should we start at?" he asked.

"Ummm…noon?" Yuri guessed.

The footage from noon showed nothing. They watched as soldiers walked by chatting, vehicles driving by; a typical military post. Some squares displayed footage from the perimeter, showing the horizon, an endless white landscape.

"Well this is interesting," Yuri said sarcastically.

Suddenly, the horizon squares displayed a row of tiny people in the distance. Nikolai the Pilot squinted his eyes and moved closer to the square that was displaying it. The people were getting closer, and he could make out Russian Army uniforms. Then he jerked back as white smoke trails materialized and the squares went dark.

Yuri was watching the other squares. At the moment that the perimeter squares went dark, the soldiers became alert and hurried away, readying their weapons as they did. "This is it; Samantha attacked at – " he looked at the footage time " – 1205 hours."

"Did you see all those troops? She truly has an army!" Nikolai the Pilot exclaimed nervously.

"We need to tell the others about this," Yuri declared. "Come on, let's go back to the Humvee. Time's almost up anyway."

"Richtofen! Dempsey! Anyone?" Soap called out as he and Price dashed through the ruined post. They had to find the others in time before the helicopters got them first! Actually, Soap didn't know for certain that the incoming helicopters were hostile, but since they were in Russia, odds were they were Russian.

"Can anyone hear us? We need to get out of here!" Price yelled.

Dempsey's head popped up. "What? What's going on?"

"Helicopters! I'm taking that they're hostile!" Soap said in between breaths.

"We gotta find the others and get out before they actually get here!" Price added.

Nikolai the Drunk appeared. "Aw, I still haven't found any vodka!" he whined.

"Shut your mouth, we're going!" Dempsey snapped as he grabbed his MG36.

A few minutes later they ran into Richtofen and Takeo. "Look everyone! Takeo has found a map of zhe area!" Richtofen said.

"That's great, but we gotta go before some enemy choppers get here," Price said.

Soap was worried about another thing. "Yuri and Nikolai the Pilot! They're still in that security station!"

"Dammit! I've gotta ask them," Price said. He got on his radio piece and contacted Yuri.

"Yuri? Come in Yuri! What's your location?" Price's voice came over Yuri's radio piece.

"We're waiting at the Humvee. Why?" Yuri replied.

"There's enemy birds coming in! We have to move!"

"Got it. We'll get the Humvee ready."

Price had just gotten off his radio piece when the group was interrupted by the aforementioned helicopters appearing over the horizon. "Shit!" Dempsey swore.

"Damn, damn, DAMN it! Hurry – to the Humvee!" Price called out.

The six started sprinting, but the choppers were faster. In a minute or so they were directly behind the group.

"RUN!"

Inside the lead helicopter, a Russian with curious eyes looked out the window and spotted some people on the ground. He ordered binoculars to be brought to him and examined the people through them. They were all carrying weapons, and one of them caught his attention immediately. He smiled and told the pilot to land and for the soldiers with him to ready their guns.

Takeo saw one helicopter landing and told his comrades about it. They had turned back to look when the door opened and seven soldiers jumped out. They were followed by another man that was obviously the leader. The soldiers aimed at the group and the leader said, "Put down your weapons." The group grudgingly complied.

Price couldn't believe his eyes. It couldn't be him, not him, not _him_! The leader smiled and pulled out a P99 pistol. He pointed it at Price and walked towards him. Price stared at him, at his one blue eye and his one green eye. The man smiled evilly and said, "Hello…Captain Price."

Price snarled, opened his mouth, and spat out one word, one name, the name of his worst enemy.

"Makarov."


	2. The Enemy of My Enemy

Chapter 2

_**Group C outpost defensive post 1, Siberia**_

_**August 20, 2016, 12:29:27**_

It was a scene straight out of an old Western film; the good guys, outnumbered and disarmed by the bad guys who had them stuck in a street. There was even a slight wind blowing that stirred up some of the loose snow on the ground that added to the scene. The other helicopters were landing and disgorging more soldiers, until there were around 40.

Soap and Price had the pistol-wielding Makarov under a steely glare. Here was the man himself, the madman that was partly responsible for an entire world war. Price's hands were actually trembling with the urge to scoop up his RSASS and put a bullet into his smug face. Their comrades didn't have as an emotional reaction to Makarov as them – to Richtofen, Dempsey, Takeo and Nikolai the Drunk, he was just another bad guy threatening to kill them.

"I must say, I was surprised when I spotted you all here," Makarov said to Price. "The infamous Captain Price and Captain Mactavish with four new friends for their futile cause." He started to examine the four strangers to him, starting with Richtofen.

"A neo-Nazi? How interesting. You must really be running out of men, Price, if you're recruiting lowlifes like this."

Of course, Makarov didn't know that Richtofen was a real Nazi, and the Doctor was quick and eager to point it out. "How DARE you! I am a TRUE Nazi, you schweinehund! I am Doctor Edvard Richtofen and now you are on my death list, number 497!"

"If you don't shut up you'll be on the dead list!" Makarov shouted, and several soldiers behind him aimed their PP90M1s at Richtofen.

Makarov continued to examine the zombie killers. "An American in an old Marines uniform, a Japanese in an Imperial Japan outfit, and a Loyalist? Really, Price, just look at these men around you."

"I'm not a Loyalist! I'm a Russian!" Nikolai the Drunk proclaimed, not knowing the two were often one and the same.

"And you have just proven yourself an idiotic Loyalist," Makarov replied.

"I can sense you have no honor in you," Takeo said.

"Makarov, these guys are from WWII, so don't think they're newbies! They've fought hordes of zombies in the past," Price said.

"You do realize the irony of calling me mad, and then saying something like that?" was Makarov's reply.

"Oooh, you're mad too! So am I! Hooray!" Richtofen exclaimed giddily.

Meanwhile, Yuri and Nikolai the Pilot had seen the helicopters touching down and were now stealthily moving from ruin to ruin searching for their friends.

"Ugh, why did we even split up?" Yuri complained.

"Hey, Price thought it was for the best, and you can't blame him," Nikolai the Pilot replied.

A couple of minutes passed before the pair heard voices. Nikolai the Pilot grabbed Yuri's shoulder and said, "Shhh! Listen!"

They strained their ears and cautiously moved closer to the source. Peeking over a smashed wall, the duo saw five helicopters on the ground, a row of soldiers, a lone man in front of them, and their friends without their weapons.

"Whoa, I think that guy is…" Nikolai the Pilot squinted "…Makarov."

As soon as he heard the name, Yuri froze up. He was instantly transported back to the past, to the year 1996, when he was a young man eager to do as much as he could for the Motherland…

_**Pripyat, Ukraine**_

_**Winter 1996**_

_Yuri woke up from his nap and stretched. He was in the back seat of a jeep, with Makarov at the wheel. Outside, Imran Zakhaev was arguing with the arms dealer. Makarov turned and spoke to him._

"_Yuri, wake up. Zakhaev wouldn't want you to miss this. This deal will generate millions for our cause. Money can buy many things. Even power. The road to our future begins here, my friend."_

_Yuri looked out the window, where the argument was heating up. _

"_What do you mean, it's not enough? I thought we –_

"Yuri? Yuri!" Nikolai the Pilot shook him, bringing him back to the present.

"Huh?"

"Did you hear what I was saying?"

"No, sorry."

"It's okay. Anyway, I said that we're busting them out of there. I'll go over to that street and take care of the soldiers while you stay here to snipe Makarov and his cronies. You take the first shot."

"Okay, got it." Yuri readied his RSASS while Nikolai the Pilot headed over to the aforementioned street with his MG36. He was low on ammo for the sniper rifle, but that didn't matter. It would only take one bullet, one shot, one kill.

Makarov was still talking to Price. "I see that your pilot friend Nikolai and Yuri aren't here. Oh yes, I know that you brought them with you. They always follow you. You think that they're your aces in the hole, but soon you will see that that is just a mere delusion."

For a split second, Price was astonished. How did Makarov know about Yuri? Then he spat out a two word phrase that definitely wasn't a compliment. Makarov smiled and swiftly kicked him in the gut, sending him to the ground gasping and wheezing. "I know how your men think, Price. They'll take the best opportunity they can find. And in this case, that opportunity is the street to my right."

Yuri brought the rifle up and looked through the scope. Shifting the RSASS, he was able to locate Makarov, who seemed to be mocking Price. Yuri then witnessed Price getting kicked in the gut while the other five cringed. Inhaling slowly and holding his breath, his finger tightened on the trigger…

Nikolai the Pilot hoped that Price was okay after that kick. He was still waiting for Yuri to fire, and thought to himself that he was probably savouring the kill. Then he watched the row of soldiers suddenly turn to face the street that he was in, and heard Makarov shouting "Surrender yourselves or my men will slaughter everyone! And don't try to kill me, because then they'll do the same regardless!"

Yuri heard Makarov's demand and cursed. He had them in his hands, all right! There was no way he and Nikolai the Pilot could take down all of them in time. Still cursing, he bitterly stood up with his hands raised. Nikolai the Pilot did the same, and the two grudgingly walked over to their enemies.

Soap's heart sank when he saw Yuri and Nikolai the Pilot emerge with their hands raised in defeat. They were truly screwed now, at the mercy of a madman. Makarov gestured with his pistol for the pair to join their friends, and the two did. Dempsey said, "Well, we're in a deep load of shit now."

"My thoughts exactly," Makarov said. "Now I have rounded up your little group and defeated you. Now…I shall kill you all. Hell awaits," he concluded with a grin.

"No! I'm not ready for hell! I've got nozhing to vear!" Richtofen wailed. The others looked on in confusion as they digested this outburst.

"Clothes or not, you have an appointment with the devil," Makarov said. He raised his hand and the soldiers aimed their guns. He walked back to his men, raised his arms, and shouted, "Goodbye everyone!"

BOOM! An explosion from an RPG round shattered the moment as several luckless soldiers on the end were hurled into the air. Everyone ducked instinctively and whirled around, trying to see where the projectile had come from.

"SAM!" the cry rang out. It seemed to come from all sides, from over a hundred throats. Makarov and his men didn't know what was going on, but Task Force 935 did.

"Samantha!" they said at once.

Immediately Samantha's soldiers poured out from behind the ruins around the area which they had lay hidden. Another RPG was fired, and this one smashed into one of the helicopters parked on the ground. It exploded in a fireball, sending Makarov and his men to the ground.

"Retaliate!" Makarov shouted. His men got up and started to return fire. Some of them landed hits, but they were outnumbered by over three to one. And Samantha's soldiers could fight back too. Ten of Makarov's men were killed as bullets flew back.

"Come on, my friends!" Richtofen shouted. He grabbed his MG36 off the ground and gleefuly started pouring lead into Samantha's soldiers' ranks. His fellow zombie killers followed suit, but the Task Force 141 men were a little hesitant.

"I'm not sure I can stomach fighting with Makarov," Price said.

"Be honorable and fight! We're on the same side now!" Takeo replied.

Task Force 935 still had their force fields (surprisingly), and were the only ones successfully killing the enemies. More RPGs were fired, increasing the chaos. They began slowly retreating to the helicopters and also where Makarov's remaining men were. They didn't have the luxury of force fields, and their numbers were down to the last ten. Makarov himself was still alive, and watched as Task Force 935 ignored the hail of lead smacking into their force fields.

"How…" he began.

Price pushed him aside just as an enemy's bullets occupied the spot where his head was a few seconds ago. He quickly sniped the enemy and grabbed Makarov. "Get your remaining men and get to the chopper! And I'm doing only doing this because we now have a common enemy, so don't think we're best buddies or something!"

"No problem. I feel the same way," Makarov said. He bawled out orders to his last seven men, and everyone hurried to the four intact helicopters, with Task Force 935 covering Makarov's and his men's backs. The pilots that had stayed behind in the choppers started up the rotors when they saw them coming. However, the pilot of the one that Task Force 935 got into was more than reluctant to transport his leader's former enemies. A couple of words from Dempsey's foul mouth soon sorted that out, and soon four helicopters lifted off amid a hail of bullets pinging off their armored exteriors. Everyone was glad that Samantha's soldiers had seemed to run out of RPG rounds.

"Escaping vas a bad idea!" Samantha's demonic voice boomed through the air. "And soon zhe vorld will suffer for your mistakes!"

Makarov came over on the radio to Task Force 935. "Who the hell was that?"

Soap went in the cockpit (he was closest) and replied. "It's a long story".

"Doesn't matter, Captain Mactavish. It's a long flight to Prague," Makarov said. Soap shrugged and began to recall their adventure at the Group C base to their enemy-now-friend.

Meanwhile, Price was grilling Yuri on how Makarov knew him. Yuri hemmed and hawed, and Nikolai the Drunk said, "Come on, you're making me impatient! And that's not good because I'm already mad at not having vodka!"

Yuri said, "Promise that you guys won't chuck me out of the helicopter?"

"Of course. Why would we do that?" Nikolai the Pilot said.

Yuri sighed. "I was young, and patriotic, when I first met Vladimir Makarov…"

_**Pripyat, Ukraine**_

_**Winter 1996**_

_Yuri woke up from his nap and stretched. He was in the back seat of a jeep, with Makarov at the wheel. Outside, Imran Zakhaev was arguing with the arms dealer. Makarov turned and spoke to him._

"_Yuri, wake up. Zakhaev wouldn't want you to miss this. This deal will generate millions for our cause. Money can buy many things. Even power. The road to our future begins here, my friend."_

_Yuri looked out the window, where the argument was heating up. _

"_What do you mean, 'it's not enough?' I thought we had a deal!" Zakhaev was shouting._

_A flash on top of a distant building caught Yuri's eyes, before they were drawn back to Zakhaev as a sniper round tore off his left arm. Only then was the gunshot heard. Another round smashed one of the jeep's windows, and Yuri hastily took cover. The door opened as a bleeding Zakhaev staggered into the jeep, and Makarov quickly drove them away from the site._

"Zakhaev never forgot what we did for him that day. Our reward was power…but power corrupts."

_**Al-Asad's Safehouse, Middle East**_

_**October 2011**_

_Yuri walked up the steps and emerged outside. In the distance, the city where American forces were battling OpFor could be seen. He didn't know what was going to happen, but he had a feeling that it would happen soon. _

_Makarov turned to him and said, "Today, we show the world our true strength. Perhaps it will give you some as well."_

_His cell phone rang and he answered. "Is everything ready?" he paused for a couple seconds. Then, two words that would spell doom for thousands of humans. "Do it."_

_He hung up and watched the city._

"Thousands of souls extinguished by the push of a button."

_All of a sudden, a blinding flash replaced the city and Yuri shaded his eyes. A massive blast wave rushed outwards and swatted down American helicopters as if they were toys. It was only then that Yuri realized that a nuclear bomb or device had been detonated. As he stood there, both terrified and fascinated, Makarov looked at him and said, "Understand, Yuri. This is only the beginning."_

"This wasn't war. It was madness."

_**Zakhaev International Airport, Moscow**_

_**August 2016**_

_Yuri struggled against Kiril and Lev's grasp in a futile attempt to escape. He was about to resort to kicking and punching until he heard a voice, once coveted, now feared, by him. Makarov._

"_I know what you have done, Yuri. I know what you have told them. My friend. My ally. My betrayer. What happens here today will change the world forever. Nothing can stop this. Not even you."_

_Makarov pulled out his Desert Eagle and shot Yuri in the stomach. Gasping and wheezing, he fell to the floor. The other three men stepped over him, and he was helpless to try to prevent what was going to happen._

_He didn't know how and when he got to the elevator, only that he did. Weakly jabbing at the button, he heard in his earpiece the words that terrified him the most._

"_Remember – No Russian."_

_He yanked the earpiece out, not wanting to hear it anymore._

_The doors opened and Yuri stumbled out. He was too late. Already innocent men, women and children lay dead around him. Fighting the urge to throw up, he feebly grabbed a P99 pistol off the ground beside a security guard who would never need it again, and tried to follow Makarov. He started swaying and fired the P99 in a desperate attempt to kill Makarov. He missed. Yuri finally passed out and let blissful darkness envelop him._

_Later, he opened his eyes as a medic found him. "Makarov…is he…" he muttered softly. The medic didn't hear, and as he put an oxygen mask over his face and called for help, Yuri passed out again._

"I was a soldier of Russia, not a taker of innocent lives. But in his eyes, that made me the enemy. That is why I hate Makarov so much, and why it's even more difficult for me to fight alongside him."

Dempsey gave a low whistle. "Man, that's some deep stuff."

Takeo said, "You were honorable to fight for what was right."

"You're a real Russian, not like that Makarov!" Nikolai the Drunk proclaimed.

"And zhank you for more insight on zhe modern vorld," Richtofen said.

"I'm sorry that you had to go through that, Yuri," Price said sympathetically.

"I'm glad that you came to us!" Nikolai the Pilot said.

"Thanks. You guys are great," Yuri said.

Soap came back from the cockpit. "So, what's up?"

Yuri began retelling his story as the helicopters droned on, towards Prague, towards…freedom?


	3. Earth and Metal

Chapter 3

**Group C mine, Siberia**

**August 23, 2016, 14:48:33**

Fyodor Mikhailov was enjoying a smoke when the loudspeakers blared to life.

"All personnel report for duty! We are under attack, I repeat, we are under attack!"

"Ahhh damn." Mikhailov tossed his cigarette on the ground and grinded it out with the heel of his shoe. Grabbing his AK-47 with holographic sight attached, he ran over to his superior, Anton Alexandrov, where other soldiers were gathering around him. He saw his buddy, Adrik Fedorov, and waved. Fedorov waved back.

"Men, we are in a fullscale emergency!" Alexandrov began. "A large number of Army personnel are attacking us from the south! We're to stay down here and ensure that they don't get near the machine!"

The machine in question was the entire reason of Ultranationalists being here in this mine. It was obviously very hush-hush, but Mikhailov had heard that it was able to clone objects by rearranging atoms and breaking molecular bonds and doing some other physics mumbo-jumbo.

"The lifts have already been disabled, so be on the lookout for transport helicopters and such!" Alexandrov continued. "We will triumph, for God is with us! с нами Бог!"

"с нами Бог!" the soldiers echoed. They separated and took up their assigned posts. Mikhailov and Fedorov were together, on a catwalk overlooking the central, open pit part of the mine.

"This is weird, huh?" Fedorov commented.

"I'll say." Mikhailov was puzzled on how and why the Russian Army were attacking them. The Army had just come back from their failed invasion of America about two days ago. He didn't think that they would be able to organize another operation that quickly. Even stranger was the fact that the Army and the Ultranationalists were on the same side, opposing the West. Mikhailov told Fedorov about his thoughts, and his friend agreed. "Either everyone's gone crazy, or there's something deeper going on."

Gunfire from above made Mikhailov feel sympathy for the luckless fellows on ground defense. They were the first to go in an attack like this. Turning his eyes skyward, he touched off a small salute to them.

The loudspeakers blared again. "Attention! Attention! Ground defense has been overrun! All personnel prepare for battle!"

"Well, buddy, here we go," Fedorov said, punching MIkhailov's arm. MIkhailov returned the favor, and both men grinned.

According to Alexandrov, the Army would most likely have helicopters fly down here and disgorge troops. To combat that, some soldiers were equipped with RPGs to blow any enemy chopper to pieces. Everyone was expecting contact soon, and they were right…but not in the way that they expected.

"Aw dammit, they're rappelling down!" a soldier cried out. Mikhailov confirmed the soldier's announcement when he saw figures dropping down, cutting their cords and opening fire on them.

"Open fire!" Alexandrov shouted. The Ultranationalists complied and some enemies dropped dead to the ground. But more were coming, and already several friendlies were on the ground lifeless.

"How many are there?" Mikhailov exclaimed. He estimated that around a hundred Army soldiers had already rappelled down here. After a few minutes, Alexandrov bawled out the order that all armed forces fear: "Fall back! We'll get them soon enough!"

Fall back they did. Mikhailov and Fedorov jumped down from the catwalk and ran back to their secondary position, which was near an overturned bulldozer. The Ultranationalists continued to battle their enemies, now numbering over two hundred.

Mikhailov was reloading when he heard a wet slurp to his right. He turned and found Fedorov, his friend, his buddy, on the ground with a bullet in his head. "NOOO!" he howled. "No, no, no, goddamn it!" He squeezed his eyes shut to fight the tears that threatened to spill out. Although he had only known Fedorov for a couple of months, the two had bonded greatly. Besides, soldiers were like brothers to each other. Sniffling a few times, Mikhailov tore his eyes away from his lifeless friend and got back into the fight.

They were losing ground. The Ultranationalists were being forced back as their Army enemies continued to grow. Mikhailov had turned his back to retreat when he too was shot.

Pain blossomed through his entire body and he fell to the ground, his AK-47 thrown out of his hand. Wheezing and gasping, he flipped over so that he was facing upwards. The pain was intense, like a rabid beast, clawing at every cell in his body.

A pool of his blood, his life-giving blood, was forming around him. He could feel his strength ebbing away. There was so little time left, but he had made a promise with himself when he had become a soldier. That promise was to go out with a bang…literally.

His hand closed around a grenade. Tilting his head up just a little, he could see the Army advancing. They were almost at where he was laying. Focusing his remaining energy into his arm, he pulled the pin.

**Ultranationalist Stronghold, Prague**

**August 23, 2016, 9:10:59**

"Ahhh, at last I am reunited with vodka!" Nikolai the Drunk said.

Task Force 935 had been brought to the stronghold, which was a castle, last night, and the Ultranationalists didn't know what to make heads or tails of them. Makarov had ordered them to treat Task Force 935 as guests, not enemies, but that didn't stop the Ultranationalists from giving them fishy looks every now and then. Nikolai the Drunk had immediately begun griping about sobering up, and he had been given some vodka in exchange for him shutting up.

Soap didn't share Nikolai the Drunk's enthusiasm. True, they were out of Russia, but Samantha was still at large. Then Makarov came into the room where they were and everyone fell silent. He put his arms behind his back and said, "We have a situation."

"A few minutes ago we lost contact with a mine under our employment, north of where we picked you up. From the last radio message from it we assume that it was attacked. Now, it may be your Loyalists, but last time I checked they were all banished from Russia."

"Yeah, thanks to your efforts," Nikolai the Pilot said sourly. The truce may be in effect but that didn't mean they didn't want to get in a jab at Makarov every now and then.

"Yes, yes, I know." Makarov said impatiently. "Now, picking up where I was interrupted, we believe that this Samantha girl is responsible for this."

"Soap filled you in on the flight here?" Dempsey said.

"Yes, and I wouldn't have believed him if I hadn't been in a fight with her too."

Richtofen was pondering something. "Vhy vould Samantha attack your mine? Zhere is nozhing of importance zhere, am I right?"

"Not exactly…" Makarov trailed off.

"Okay, I admit, there's one of our top assets there. A cloning machine, built by Group C, which I'm assuming you all know about from what MacTavish told me. It's meant for objects as large as a helicopter."

"And lemme guess…you wanted to use it for your plan to take over the world?" Dempsey said.

"No, just Europe," Makarov answered, deadpan.

Takeo spoke up. "This confirms that Samantha is going into the next stage of her plan. The only thing we have to do is figure out that plan."

"Yeah, but how?" Nikolai the Pilot asked.

"What about the old way of finding out things…waiting and seeing?" Yuri offered. The others considered that.

"Well, we do need to work out a strategy of our own, and I'd say we all want a rest, so…I guess let's wait and see," Price said with a shrug.

"Awesome, because it wouldn't have been good for any of us to separate me from vodka again," Nikolai the Drunk said. Everybody groaned and rolled their eyes.

"I'll give you eight until September 1," Makarov said. "After that, we'll move."

_**8 days later…**_

**US Army Base NYC, New York**

**September 1, 2016, 07:16:53**

Frost, Truck, Grinch and some other soldiers were watching TV when the screen suddenly went black.

"Aw come on! I thought they improved the fricking reception!" Grinch complained. Because of the Russian invasion, most American TV stations had gone offline (Frost had heard a rumor that Hollywood itself had been bombed in the fighting on the West Coast) except for ones like CNN. Until the stations were back, everyone had to rely on Canadian ones for their entertainment, and the reception, to put it bluntly, sucked.

However, the screen lit up shortly after, but it was showing a newscaster clutching some papers in her hand. On the bottom, the words "URGENT NEWS BULLETIN" scrolled across the screen. Everyone in the room fell silent as she began to speak.

"We've interrupted the scheduled programming to bring you this urgent news bulletin. Less than half an hour ago, at noon, Greenwich Meridian Time, unknown and hostile forces attacked Russia and Europe. Details are sketchy at the moment, but targeted cities seem to include Moscow, Vladivostok, Hamburg, Paris, Rome and Kiev." The TV displayed a map of Europe and northern Asia, with the cities highlighted in red and labelled.

"No official footage has been released, but several videos have been posted online of this attack. We are about to show you one from Paris, but be warned that it contains disturbing images."

True to the newscaster's word, the video began to play. It was shaky and of low quality, probably taken on a cell phone. Explosions and gunfire, along with the unnerving sound of injured people wailing and screaming, barraged everyone watching the TV. The person filming began talking in French. Frost didn't understand a word of it, but he definitely wasn't saying something like, "Oh look! We're being invaded! Isn't that great?" The video ended when a helicopter fired a rocket at a building close by, probably from the cameraman deciding that he had had enough. The newscaster was displayed again.

"Reports are also coming in of this attack being carried out by Russian armed forces, but authorities have challenged these claims, pointing out that Russia itself is also under fire. However, photos of the attack posted online clearly show soldiers in Russian uniforms being the attackers." The screen displayed these photos, and the newscaster was right – Frost clearly saw Russians in it.

"These are the latest details of this breaking news story. We will continue to cover it, so be sure to stay tuned." She shuffled her papers. "Now, here with us to discuss this –"

Truck turned off the TV. Everyone sat in silence, digesting what they had seen. They were snapped out of their thoughts when someone knocked on the doorway. Turning around, Frost saw Sandman standing there with a somber look on his face.

"Everyone heard the news?" he asked. All the soldiers nodded.

"Good, because we're being rerouted to Hamburg, Delta and Army alike. We leave this afternoon, so ready up." Sandman turned around and left the room.

The room instantly filled with the clamor of everyone discussing these new orders. One soldier said confidently, "We'll punt their sorry asses into the middle of next week!"

"Dude, we don't even know who these guys are," his buddy said.

"Psh, what difference does it make? They're enemies of the USA either way!"

While the two soldiers continued their debate, Frost headed toward his barrack. On the way, he glanced at the distant and damaged New York skyline. Soon, it would be replaced by the damaged Hamburg skyline. He shook his head and remarked to himself, "Well, one city to the next." He entered his barrack.


	4. Counterattack

Chapter 4

**Africa Militia Stronghold, Sierra Leone**

**September 2, 2016, 10:25:44**

It was a hot and dusty day in Sierra Leone. A wind was blowing, picking up some sand and flinging it into the faces of Task Force 935, the Ultranationalists, and the Militia. The latter insisted that it wasn't a warning of a sandstorm, and the others hoped that they were right.

After the first notice of Europe and Russia being attacked, Task Force 935 and the Ultranationalists hightailed it out of Prague. Flying through central Germany, southern France and Spain had avoided the battlefields, but news was that Kiev and Vladivostok had already fallen. While the world didn't know who was behind the attack, Task Force 935 and the Ultranationalists did: Samantha.

They had stopped in Spain to contact the Loyalists, who had been wandering around in India after Price, Soap, Yuri and Nikolai the Pilot had disappeared on August 17. Nikolai the Pilot had told them a condensed version of what had happened to them, and arranged for the two groups to meet up in Sierra Leone. Just like when they had been forced into a truce with Makarov, Price didn't feel too great about being alongside the Militia. They were responsible for genocide in countless towns and villages in the area. He was glad that they were here only to assist the Ultranationalists if a firefight broke out, and not to come with them.

Everyone's eyes were peeled for Loyalist helicopters. Everyone, that is, except Richtofen. The Nazi was still stewing from having his Wunderwaffe being taken away, and was mourning his loss as if his girlfriend had just broken up with him.

"Oh, I miss it so much! My greatest invention, gone from my hands!" He was almost wailing.

"Suck it up Kraut, it was out of ammo anyway," Dempsey said.

"True, it was empty, just like your head," Takeo jeered at Dempsey.

Meanwhile, Price asked Makarov, "Are you sure that your men won't kill ours?"

Makarov fixed him with a steely glare. "Are you sure that YOUR men won't kill mine?"

Before a fight and a possible end to the truce broke out, Nikolai the Drunk called out, "I see them!"

Sure enough, a fleet of choppers appeared in the sky. Africa Militia members cleared the space in front of the stronghold, and the helicopters landed. Task Force 935 rushed out to greet them, while the Ultranationalists hung back.

Nikolai the Pilot began conferencing with what were presumably the temporary Loyalist leaders. The rest of the Task Force patiently waited for them to finish. After a while, they were done talking.

"So what's the score?" asked Soap.

"They've agreed to the truce with Makarov, but they want it to end after we've beaten Samantha," Nikolai the Pilot informed them.

"Fine by me. I'm pretty sure that we still hate each other," Yuri said.

After a few more minutes of talking, everyone was ready to leave. The Loyalist and Ultranationalist helicopters lifted off, side by side for the first time in years. The pilot of the lead helicopter, and also the one that Task Force 935 was in, asked, "Where should we go?"

"Russia," Richtofen ordered, and was greeted by the indignant protests of the others.

"What? Are you crazy?" Dempsey shouted. Then he stopped to think about what he had just said. "Oh yeah, you are crazy."

Richtofen smiled. "Zhank you for acknowledging zhat. Yes, everyone, ve should go to Russia, simply because it's zhe least likely place ve vould go to." After hearing that, everyone paused to think that over.

"Well, you do have a point there," Takeo said.

"True, and Russia is also where Samantha is," Yuri said. "We can counterattack pretty easily if we do go there."

"Yeah, let's go to the Motherland!" Nikolai the Drunk cheered.

The pilot relayed their decision to the other choppers, and the fleet swung towards the northeast.

_**2 days later…**_

**Hamburg, Germany**

**September 4, 2016, 8:05:29**

Frost and the rest of Metal 0-1 watched the Ospreys and helicopters of Bravo Force cruising around him above the Elbe River. Below were landing crafts carrying M1A2 tanks. In the distance was the Köhlbrand Bridge, a cable-stayed roadway that normally carried cars. Now it was carrying US soldiers of Kilo Force moving into Hamburg. Orders were to drive out the phony Russians, or "Phonies", as they were being increasingly called. The people up top were serious too – the latest news was far from rosy. Rome had been occupied, Russia's major cities were under attack, Phony and Allied forces were locked in a bitter struggle over Paris, and if Hamburg fell, Germany would have a whole new front to worry about (they were already occupied with the east and south).

A projectile smashed into an Osprey's wing, causing its entire left engine to shear right off. With flames trailing out of it, the luckless aircraft spun out of control and went into the drink. Frost bit his lip – they would search for the guys in it later, but by then they would probably be dead.

They were nearing the landing site, a strip of beach. Bravo Force began landing. Everyone did a final once-over to make sure they were ready.

With a thud, Metal 0-1's helicopter touched the ground. They jumped out and were greeted by tracers and RPGs. Close by, one of the M1A2 tanks rolled out of its landing craft and began to return fire.

"Go, go! Get off this beach!" Sandman shouted. "Use as much cover as possible!"

Boulders and the occasional ruin provided safety as the soldiers rushed forward. The Phonies had the advantage of higher ground, and were blasting away at the US soldiers. The scene was eerily similar to Stalingrad or Normandy of the previous world war.

Frost paused for a few seconds to take out a Phony. They were almost off the beach when a T90 tank appeared. Its cannon barked and another crater was blasted out of the beach, causing the soldiers to hastily duck behind cover.

"Shit! That tank's got us pinned down!" Grinch said.

"We've got some armor of our own, don't we?" Truck replied.

Sure enough, one of the M1A2s blasted the T90 to hell and gone. Free to move again, the US attack force continued advancing. After deploying smoke for cover, they managed to get off the beach and onto black, hard asphalt.

"Move south! We'll meet up with Kilo Force at the Köhlbrand!" Sandman ordered.

Around them were shipping containers providing ample cover for the Phonies. Frost had an SMAW, and used it to obliterate one container at the bottom of a pile. The combined blast and sudden absence of the container caused the entire stack to keel over, sending steel boxes onto the Phonies' heads.

"Good work!" Sandman congratulated.

They were almost to the Köhlbrand. The buildings around them were packed with enemies. A couple rounds from the M1A2s took care of them.

"Man, let's hope the rest of this will be this easy," Grinch said.

The Köhlbrand had a long overpass that descended towards the ground. Alongside it were enemy T90s and soldiers, engaging Kilo Force up above on the overpass. However, Bravo Force tore into their flank, and together both groups defeated the enemies.

"Thanks for the assist," Kilo radioed.

Overlord came through over their earpieces. "Metal 0-1, we've received a request for assistance from a German squad in the area. They say to be engaging hostiles but are outnumbered. The squad is 800 meters southeast of your position. Take some other men with you and help them out."

"Roger, we'll take care of it," Sandman replied. He relayed the new objective to everyone, and Metal 0-1, another squad and an M1A2 began moving out. The other soldiers and tanks continued their push into the city.

"Metal 0-1, I am patching you through to the German squad commander," Overlord informed them. "Patching in three, two, one."

"Ja? Is this the American squad?" a harried voice asked.

"It is. Just where is your position exactly?" Sandman said.

"We're at a power station, south side of the overpass! Enemies are attacking us from the east!" the German squad commander informed them.

"Copy, just keep your perimeter secure," Sandman advised.

They went under the overpass and passed more industrial buildings. Luckily, none of them held any Phonies. They had reached an open field when gunfire reached their ears.

"There's the power station!" Grinch said, pointing in front of them.

"Spread out. This field is ideal for a sniper to look over," Sandman warned. They cautiously advanced, with the M1A2 between them. The tank's cannon was pointed at a clump of trees to the left in case a sniper was hiding in them. No contact was made, and everyone made it to the power station in one piece.

"This is the American squad, we are coming in from the west," Sandman radioed the German squad commander.

"Danke schon. We're glad you're here," the relieved German said.

A fence surrounded the power station, put there to deter any troublemakers and/or vandals. It was squashed flat by the M1A2, and the US group entered. Moving past electricity pylons holding wires, they met up with the Germans, who were still holding off the Phonies.

"Hind! Look out!" Truck shouted. The enemy helicopter appeared and fired a missile at the Americans. It missed, but smashed into a pylon instead. The structure was brought down…along with the wires that were buzzing with electricity.

"Frost! Wire!" Grinch yelled. Frost looked up and saw it coming down at him. He dodged it just in time, and called out "Thanks" to Grinch.

Another missile was fired, causing more pylons and wires to come down on top of the Americans. Several poor soldiers were electrocuted and killed, but everyone else, including the M1A2, made it through, and joined the Germans holding back the Phonies.

"Frost! Use your SMAW to take down that Hind!" Sandman said. Frost complied, putting a round into the launcher. Pointing it at the chopper, he waited for the beeps confirming a lock on. They came, and Frost fired. The round streaked through the air, curved left and slammed into the Hind. Meanwhile, the others had taken out the Phonies, and Sandman radioed Overlord.

"Overlord, this is Metal 0-1. Link up with German squad complete."

"Roger, Metal 0-1. Proceed north to assist in the assault on the city core," Overlord replied.

"Copy that."

"Nice," Grinch said. "Guess the first round's on us."


	5. In Enemy Territory

**Thanks to Jarad100 for reviewing! Reply to your review: True, I do find it a bit difficult keeping characters in character, but I hope it's still entertaining like you said! :D**

Chapter 5

**Hereford, United Kingdom**

**September 5, 2016, 18:37:55**

"Sir, we've got someone on the line with a lead on the Phonies. He keeps insisting that he'll only talk with you," the SAS officer told Baseplate.

"Put him through," Baseplate said.

Once the connection was established, Baseplate immediately gave out a cold "Identify yourself."

"Mac. It's John," a familiar voice said.

Baseplate sighed. "We've lost a lot of men this week, lad," he said in a depressed voice.

"I know, and I'm going to take down the person responsible for this," said Price. "Any recent developments of interest?"

"You're still in exile, John. If they find out that I'm sharing intel with you it'll be my neck along –"

"Don't give me that!" Price barked. "You still owe me for Pripyat and I'm calling it in!"

"Easy, son, easy," Baseplate said. He thought about anything they had found recently that was peculiar, and one thing stuck out in his mind.

"All right. Two days ago American satellites found a sudden appearance of open pit mines in Russia. They're spread all over the place, so if you're looking to investigate all of them I'm afraid you're out of luck."

"Doesn't matter. We just need one."

"Okay then. All of them are in Siberia except for one that's near Yekaterinburg. Unless you're willing to go into the middle of nowhere, that's the one you're looking for. It's fifteen kilometers west of the city. We weren't able to make any passes with a drone, so it's a guess of how tight the security is."

"Whatever it's for, we're going to find out," Price said.

"Be careful, John. As much as some people hate you you're still a fine soldier," Baseplate warned. "Good luck, son."

"Yeah. Thanks, Mac," Price said, and hung up.

**Near Yekaterinburg, Russia**

**September 7, 2016, 19:12:20**

It was a scene of activity. Searchlights cut through the darkness of night, illuminating the yawning mouth of the mine. Armed men were everywhere – patrolling the perimeter, supervising the operation, you name it. It wasn't hard to spot the mine when it was dark; Yekaterinburg had taken a beating during the fighting, and all electricity and power was channeled to this site. Looking down from above, the mine was a bright dot amid a sea of black. The civilians that remained in the city didn't ask questions about it. Intimidating soldiers made sure of that.

Under the cover of darkness, where the searchlights couldn't spot them, seven figures stealthily moved up to the cover of various bushes and shrubs. Each had a silenced AK-47 with a Red Dot Sight attached. One of them held up a hand, signalling that a pair of enemies was headed in their direction.

"Shhh," Price whispered as he unsheathed his knife. Motioning for Soap to join him, he crept closer and in one fluid motion, knifed one soldier while pushing the other onto the ground, where Soap took care of him. Hiding the bodies among the bushes, the group continued on until they were almost to the fence surrounding the mine. Everyone went prone and flattened out on the ground.

"Nikolai the Pilot, we're at the fence," Price said into his earpiece. "Launch the diversion now!"

"Copy," the Russian pilot replied. The seven men waited.

Right on cue, explosions tore through the air and shouts of surprise came from the enemies. A helicopter came into view, machine guns chattering. Several searchlights went out with a shower of sparks as the bullets hit home. The plan was to have the Loyalists and Ultranationalists attack from the east while Task Force 935 (with the exception of Nikolai the Pilot) snuck in from the west.

"Yuri and Nikolai the Drunk, cut the fence!" Price ordered. The two Russians had wire cutters on them. They dashed forward and with snips and twangs, they cut out a section of the fence for breaching. The seven entered the complex. Their objective was to get to the command center and gather any intel on the mysterious mines that had sprung up across Russia.

Although the joint Loyalist-Ultranationalist force had announced their presence, Task Force 935 had not. Therefore, stealth was still an issue. The group had to weave their way through a camp consisted of buildings to get to the command center, which was especially difficult from the blind spots created by corners. Price knew this, as any military man did. However, they didn't have any choice, as their destination was smack dab in the middle of the camp.

"Nikolai the Pilot, can you see any forces headed our way?" Price inquired.

"No, but you'd better hurry just in case," he said.

The zombie killers had taken the lead while Price had been talking. They rounded a corner and came face to face with an enemy squad. Both parties were shocked and surprised for a few seconds, until Dempsey said, "Aw shit!"

The enemy squad shouted as they began shooting, presumably for reinforcements. What they didn't know was that Task Force 935 still had their force fields, even after almost an entire month. They were soon dead, and Richtofen was by far the happiest.

"Ahhh, how wunderbar it is to be killing people again!" the madman said.

"Yeah, sorry to break up your party, but we'd better get going because I hear more bad guys coming!" Soap said. Shouts and trampling feet confirmed his statement. The group took off, navigating their way toward the control center. Panting, they made it unscathed, but the enemies weren't far behind!

Everyone took up positions at the door, with the zombie killers tasked with charging into the center. Price nodded and kicked open the door. Soap and Yuri tossed two flashbangs one after the other as the zombie killers charged in. The blinded and dazed enemies didn't stand a chance.

"Find any intel you can! We'll stand guard out here!" Price told the zombie killers.

A radio was chattering away in the corner of the control center. Takeo shot the "dishonorable thing" out of sheer annoyance. The other three were ransacking the file cabinets lined up against the walls. So far they had only found meaningless notices and papers. Nikolai the Drunk complained, "This will be harder than walking in a straight line after drinking!"

Dempsey had shifted to bulletin boards, and was ripping paper off of thumbtacks when something caught his eye. He examined it more closely, but it seemed to be scientific gibberish. "Hey Richtofen, you're the sciencey type! Get over here and look at this!"

"I specialize more in…extraction," the Nazi said, but complied, pushing Dempsey out of the way. He began reading the paper of interest, and began muttering, "Hmmm…interesting…yes, that makes sense…" nodding as he went. The German ripped the paper off the board and put it into his pocket. "Vell, Dempsey, I stand corrected. You do have a trace of intelligence for knowing zhis is 'sciencey'."

"Hey, I can still kick your scrawny pale ass!" the Marine retorted angrily.

"Guys, we've gotta go!" Soap shouted from the doorway. The enemy soldiers had caught up to Task Force 935, and a firefight was in progress. Dempsey and Richtofen halted their exchange of insults and exited along with Takeo and Nikolai the Drunk. Once reunited, everyone started their run towards the LZ, where Nikolai the Pilot would pick them up in his helicopter. But Samantha's soldiers were in hot pursuit, and their bullets were wearing down everyone's force fields.

"Nikolai the Pilot, we're heading to the LZ, but we've got a huge number of enemies after us! Can you give us some support?" Price radioed as the group ran.

"I'll try," the Russian replied. His helicopter swooped down and started firing into the mass of enemies, a symphony of bullets with a rocket salvo here and there. Panting for air, Task Force 935 arrived at the fence, which Yuri and Nikolai the Drunk were about to cut when enemy Humvees came roaring in, screeching to a halt and disgorging their troops.

"Nikolai the Pilot, the LZ's compromised! We're heading to the secondary LZ!" Price said urgently as the group retreated and headed north, the direction of their destination.

"You better hurry; they're chewing up the diversion!"

"Just be there!"

They ran, occasionally turning around and laying down suppressing fire. A few of the newcomers had light machine guns. They were useful for a short while, but in the end they just ended up drawing attention to themselves and were soon dead. Richtofen was eager to toss his frags into the ranks of their enemies and create more blood and gore. He even went as far as asking Dempsey for his grenades. The Marine flat-out refused, slapping Richtofen's arm and letting his foul mouth speak to the German for a little bit.

"We're almost there!" Price called out. They just needed to breach the fence before they were home free. The two Russians with the wire cutters snipped away, although Nikolai the Drunk grumbled a little on having to do this "stupidly simple" task.

Yuri pushed the cut out section and it fell to the ground with a loud crash. Nikolai the Pilot's chopper was hovering in the air, still firing into the enemies pursuing Task Force 935. He began to land, but Soap's force field chose that moment to break and a bullet slammed home into his leg with a wet squelch.

"Soap's hit!" Yuri shouted. He grabbed the wounded Scot off the ground and flung him over his back, carrying him to Nikolai the Pilot's chopper. Everyone else was covering. Soap was not hurt too bad, even complaining. "Why am_ I_ the one that always gets shot?"

They got to the chopper, where Nikolai the Pilot took Soap and laid him down in the back of the chopper. The rest of Task Force 935 soon followed, and the chopper took off. Everyone was thankful that the soldiers here didn't seem to have RPGs.

"Phew, that was close," Price said. He turned to the zombie killers and asked, "So, what did you find?"

Dempsey began, "I found –"

"– a diagram explaining how zhese cloning machines vork and vhere zhey are going," RIchtofen interrupted. "Zhe former is too complicated for me to explain to you, but regarding zhe latter, Samantha is moving zhem closer to the var."

"She must want to bring in reinforcements," Takeo said. "So would I; I wouldn't want to be dishonored with defeat."

"We've got to warn the forces in Europe," Yuri worriedly said. "But how?"

Price thought about that for a moment, thought about whom he could contact, who he could trust. One name, from an operation years ago, came into his mind. Slowly, he said, "I think I know."


	6. Evacuation

**Thanks to reviewers A Random Person, playboyXXX and Jarad100! All your guesses were correct - it's Sandman!**

Chapter 6

**Hamburg, Germany**

**September 10, 2016, 13:29:35**

"Hold! Keep holding!"

Frost loaded yet another clip into his M4A1 as relentless Phonies poured in from all directions. His squad was among the ones defending the Köhlbrand Bridge as American and German personnel moved across it to the LZ for evacuation. The entire city was occupied except for this little section, and the hostiles were moving heaven and earth to defeat their enemies.

Two days ago Price had contacted Team Metal through Sandman, and gave a warning that soon, enemy forces would dramatically increase. Sandman had been confused (hell, everyone had been confused), but the soldier in exile had hung up before any questions could be answered, probably to reduce chances of the call operators finding out who he really was. They were hesitant to tell Overlord about this. If the generals up top found out that Price was still active and contacting US military personnel, the entire team would be hauled off for questioning. Some things were still important during a world war.

But, on the other hand, if Price was right and Allied forces were swamped, the team would also be hauled off for knowing about intel and not releasing it – not to mention their own moral dilemmas. So, Sandman had told Overlord that he "had a feeling" that the Phonies would attack with overwhelming forces. Overlord had listened, but in the end, who would act on a master sergeant's "feeling"? The team had consoled themselves by mentally insisting that the word was out, at least. Well, Overlord must have been thinking that Sandman's "feeling" was right. The current situation in Europe was proof of that, with almost every Allied defense overrun.

"Everyone's over the bridge! We can get out now!" Sandman shouted.

"About goddamn time," Grinch said.

Team Metal and the rest of the defenders hightailed it to the actual bridge. Phony forces swallowed up their abandoned position as they surged forward. Frost and the others had just passed under one of the Köhlbrand's arches when Truck shouted, "Hinds! Look out!"

The enemy helicopters came into view, sleek, elegant and deadly. There were three of them. Two came in from the south while the other came in from the north, putting the Americans in the middle of a pincer movement.

The Phony helicopters fired their missiles at the bridge. The projectiles, streaking white trails of smoke, detonated on impact about fifty meters in front of the Americans. Chunks of steel and concrete were blasted out and fell into the Elbe River. Cables snapped with sharp cracks that could be heard even among the chaos and fury of battle. And one or two minutes later, an ominous creaking sound rang out from the bridge.

"Umm…what's that noise?" a soldier right of Frost nervously asked.

More crumbling and collapsing noises answered the soldier's question. Frost watched in horror as the rest of the bridge started to bend, break, and fall away. Great fountains of water were created as huge sections of the bridge splashed into the river. In a matter of seconds, the section the Americans were standing on tilted, cracked, and disappeared.

"Oh shiiiiiit!" Grinch cried out as he, along with everyone else, found themselves in the air.

Frost instinctively flailed about for a handhold, but there was nothing to stop his plunge toward the water, far, far below. He was halfway there before his military training kicked in, and he curled himself up to brace for the impact.

Frost slammed into the river. The shock was enormous, and he almost gasped in pain. Luckily, he stopped himself just in time; otherwise water would have flooded into his lungs, drowning him. Fighting to keep himself conscious, he uncurled himself and swam upward, toward the surface and life-giving air. Chunks of asphalt and metal sunk past him, destined for the deeps.

With a gasp, he broke the surface and took in a deep breath. Around him the other survivors of the fall were also surfacing. The rest of Team Metal was among them, and Frost swam towards them. The Phony helicopters had vanished as quickly as they had appeared, probably deciding to leave the bridge defenders for dead and going off to attack the other troops gathered at the LZ.

"Frost! You okay?" Sandman said when he saw Frost.

"I guess," Frost said. His arms worked fine, and his legs didn't feel broken. But then again, they were floating in water and barely moving.

"Lucky. I think I broke my arm when I hit," Grinch said. A wince of pain accompanied his words.

"We'll get it checked out once we're on an Osprey and out of Hamburg," Sandman said. He glanced at his watch. "The evac's in forty minutes. We have to be out of this river and be there by then."

Everyone started swimming towards the shore. Besides the four men of Team Metal, there were seven other survivors, making eleven men altogether. The ones that had a broken arm like Grinch had to make do with kicking through the water. After a long swim, the Americans emerged on land, soaking wet and drenched to the core. Everyone had lost their weapons due to the panic after the Köhlbrand's destruction, making stealth their number one priority. Miraculously, no one's legs were broken, so they could move at maximum speed.

"Move, quietly," Sandman ordered.

The bedraggled group moved onto the road and started their trek towards the LZ. They ran past warehouses and shipyard cranes, half of which were twisted, tangled metal, accompanied by once-neat stacks of shipping crates spilled all over the place. They then passed by a train yard and a massive warehouse, all indications that this place had once been an industrial machine before the war.

The first Cobra passed by overhead not long after they had left the warehouse behind. The flying machine was followed by three more, then five, then eight, until an entire fleet's worth of choppers appeared. They were followed by another fleet of Ospreys, which were going to carry the evacuees.

"That's the evac fleet!" a soldier said in a worried tone.

"Damn it! I thought we would have more time!" Sandman cursed. "Double time it! Move!"

The group increased their already fast pace. As they jogged past yet another train yard, Frost witnessed the evac fleet landing at the LZ, which was a huge expanse of field. RPG trails showed that the Phonies were determined to prevent the Americans and Germans from escaping. The RPGs were effective, too; three Cobras and two Ospreys were hit and downed. Some enemy Hinds were also attacking, but they were swatted away by the escorting Cobras.

Five minutes…four…three…two…one…and they were there! Frost couldn't believe it. The bedraggled group had actually made it to the LZ, to safety, in time! An explosion from another RPG round slamming into an aircraft made Frost duck. Well, okay, maybe not that safe.

The Cobras were covering the Ospreys and evacuees, laying down suppressing fire on the Phonies who were attacking from the south and west. Some courageous soldiers who still had ammo were also helping to hold the perimeter. An Osprey landed near Team Metal and their fellow bridge defenders.

"Get onto that Osprey!" Sandman ordered. No one needed any urging. The group of eleven men along with some other soldiers gratefully clambered aboard. The Osprey lifted off the ground, turned northwest, and began flying out of the city. Frost's heart soared. The defense of Hamburg had been hell, no doubt about it.

Truck took off his helmet and wiped his forehead. "Holy Jesus," he said. "I NEVER want to do that again." Several soldiers chorused in agreement.

The pilot of the Osprey spoke up. "You guys can relax now. You have the flight time from here to England to rest."

Frost nodded, and gave a jaw-cracking yawn. He was dead-tired and began to nod off. Other weary soldiers were doing the same around him. His eyes slid shut, and within a minute he was fast asleep.

**RAF Mildenhall, United Kingdom**

**September 12, 2016, 9:25:01**

"Master Sergeant Sandman, please report to HQ," the loudspeakers blared. "Master Sergeant Sandman…"

Sandman glanced upward in surprise, along with Frost, Truck and Grinch, whose arm was in a sling. The former three were doing maintenance on their newly issued ACR 6.8s. None of them had any idea why Sandman would need to report. He had already given an account of the defense of Hamburg along with the other three men. Unless they wanted more info out of him because he was the squad leader, he had already done everything.

"Uh-oh. Looks like someone's been a bad boy…" Grinch teased.

"Grinch, shut up," Truck said. "I can still break your other arm."

"Hey! Insult to injury much," Grinch said with a hurt look on his face.

"Guys, enough," Sandman said. "I'm sure this isn't anything serious." He got up and walked out of their barrack. The other three men of Team Metal waited for his return, striking up short conversations and finishing doing maintenance.

Sandman came back around ten minutes later, looking a bit dazed and holding a sheet of paper. "Hey, what's wrong? You look like you've seen a ghost," Grinch asked.

"Read this," Sandman replied, holding out the paper. "It's a message they got an hour ago." Grinch snatched it out of his hand and began to read aloud, with Truck and Frost peering over his shoulder. The paper read:

_To the governments of America, England, and the defeated countries of Europe – _

_The following men are the reason for your suffering and/or occupation. Once they are caught, the war will end and you will be able to live your former lives. Therefore, I advise that if you are hiding them, you turn them over to us…fast._

Below the short message were eight profile pictures, arranged in horizontal rows of four. Frost noticed stark contrasts between the two rows. The above one contained pictures of odd-looking men in clothes straight out of the past century (Frost thought one of them was dressed like a Nazi), while the bottom row contained pictures of men that looked more modern. Each picture was also captioned by a name. None of them seemed familiar to Frost, except for the fifth one – Captain John Price.

Below the pictures, another message was written:

_The first four men are the most important. The other four are known to be assisting them, and are from your time period. If you know any information on their whereabouts, use it…or continue having your countrymen die. _

_S.M._

"Oh…"Grinch said softly. He looked at Sandman. "They called you in because Price is mentioned, right?" Sandman nodded a wordless motion of agreement.

"Are they going to pull you out of combat?" Truck said worriedly, and with good reason. Grinch was already out because of his arm, and if Sandman was also out, Team Metal would have two vacancies to fill.

"No. At least, not yet," Sandman replied, to the relief of everyone. "It's been three years since I've last spoken to him, and they know it." He winked to remind his squad mates of the secret they were keeping. "Besides, they need everyone they can get to defend England."

"Oh yeah," Truck said in a hollow voice. "That's definitely true." All of Europe was under the Phonies' thumb except for the UK, and it didn't take a military genius to see that the island nation would be under attack soon.

Frost looked out the window, watching the base's activity as he pondered the questions lurking around in his head. The Phonies would hurl everything they had against England, and so would the Allies…but would it be enough? Or would the Phonies succeed in what Hitler and Napoleon had failed to do?

Would it…would it…the phrase ran round and round in Frost's mind.


	7. Secret of the Owl

**Hello readers! Yes, I know that this chapter is long long LONG overdue! School's been busy, and I didn't have as much time to write. But, luckily, Easter Break's just started, so hopefully the next (and last) chapter will be uploaded next weekend! So, enjoy!**

**Replies to reviews!**

**Jarad100: Glad to see you're enjoying it so much! I'm trying to describe scenes in more detail and such, so...I guess it's working! :D**

**Firestar001: Cool, it's not every day someone reviews all the chapters in a story! I also see you did the same to "Survival"...thanks! Oh yeah, and for my Richtofen quote, of course you can use it! It's actually a real quote from the game, I believe.**

** Coolguyforever: :), thank you!**

**batman2.0: Well, luckily for you, this chapter and the next has a tie-in with zombies! *Dramatic music plays***

**All right, and now without any further ado...here's Chapter 7!**

Chapter 7

The Owl Mountains in Poland form a natural border between Poland and the Czech Republic. During WWII, both countries were occupied by Germany, and as a result, so were the mountains. They went unnoticed for five years until the situation changed drastically.

In 1944, the war turned ugly for Germany. Hundreds of Allied bombers rained explosive death on the country itself. The Axis victories were a thing of the past; now it was the Allies' turn to gain ground. So, Germany began working on top secret weapon projects in an effort to stop the Allied onslaught. The complex for these projects was created in the Owl Mountains, consisting of many underground tunnels and bunkers, along with a few aboveground buildings (well camouflaged, of course).

It was called Project Riese.

The Nazi regime fell a year later in 1945. However, it wasn't before they managed to develop some superweapons, such as the Wunderwaffe DG-2, teleporters, and of course…zombies.

The Soviets were the ones that stumbled upon the secret facility during their liberation of Poland. After several luckless squads were sent to investigate and promptly killed by the zombies, the site was deemed too dangerous and locked down, with the Soviets creating an entire ring of defense around the complex. After the war, another investigation was cautiously approved, and the squads assigned to the task braced themselves for the worst…only to find that all the zombies were dead. Unknown to them, a certain group of four had teleported to the site and killed all of the undead.

Now that the threat of zombies was gone, the Soviets were finally able to explore, in depth, Der Riese. What they found astonished them. Here was a treasure trove of weapons and devices more advanced than any the world had ever known! Moscow swiftly ordered all evidence and prototypes to be brought back to the USSR. Originally, Stalin had planned to tell the other Allied countries, but the Cold War had taken root and they never learned about it.

The Cold War also prompted the Soviets to try and copy the captured Nazi weaponry. However, the program failed multiple times, partly due to blueprints missing some crucial information, partly because the military was focusing on atom bombs and missiles more than the aging Nazi technology. Eventually, the program was discontinued, and the Nazi superweapons were transported to a secret location in Russia. They remained there for many years, until the Ultranationalists found out and initiated their own program. Group C was the name given to this, and had much more success than its predecessors, thanks to modern technology. Around half of the weapons and devices were unusable due to natural causes, but what technology did work was examined thoroughly.

However, the Soviets never found one of the biggest secrets Der Riese held. Hidden under many layers of rock, far beneath the surface, lay the project's storage of Element 115. Granted, there were chunks of the element near the surface, since they were needed to power many of the weapons and devices. Those samples were captured by the Soviets, but the majority remained hidden from prying eyes. Only the top scientists of Der Riese knew about it. Tucked away, snug and secure, the treasure trove of 115 lay. Sunlight and fresh air had never reached it…

…until now.

**The Pentagon, Virginia, USA**

**September 12, 2016, 8:16:22**

"Sir, we've picked up heavy activity in Poland!" one of the men in charge of the US military satellites told Overlord.

The general commander strode over. "Poland?"

"The Owl Mountains, to be precise," the man said. A few taps on the keyboard relayed the command to zoom in to the satellite, miles above the Earth. Overlord leaned forward to get a closer look at the live feed. It showed what appeared to be a large mine, surrounded by a regular wall of defenses. AA guns, observation posts, vehicle pools – it looked like a regular fortress!

"Send this footage to Britain," Overlord said as he began to leave. "I'm going to call a meeting."

"Yes, sir," the man said.

**Hereford, United Kingdom**

**September 12, 2016, 13:19:54**

"Sir, this just came in from the Americans."

Baseplate looked up and was greeted by an SAS officer holding out some papers at him. He took them with a "Thank you" and began looking at them. They were pictures, one per page, obviously taken from space.

"What's the location of this?"

"The Owl Mountains, sir, in Poland," the officer replied. "It looks like an HVT for the enemy."

High-Value Target it was. Baseplate could see defenses everywhere surrounding what appeared to be a massive open-pit mine. A compound containing nuclear weapons probably had the same, if not fewer, defenses than this.

"I'd sure like to destroy this place," Baseplate said as he continued examining the photos. "One ICBM and the enemy's HVT could be gone in an instant."

The officer shifted. "Well, sir…the Americans were thinking along the same lines as that."

"Oh? What were they proposing?"

"That we send in a strike force to capture, or at least destroy, the HVT," the officer said.

Baseplate was about to object, saying the casualties would be enormous, but he stopped and reconsidered. Britain had the armies of two countries (and the remains of others) currently milling around, waiting for an attack by the Phonies. True, they needed some man power to defend the country, but they still had some to spare.

"All right, we'll do it. But make sure to tell them that we're doing only one run and one run only."

"Yes sir." The officer left Baseplate's office, leaving the SAS commander alone. He reached for the telephone on his desk – there was a call to be made.

**Ultranationalist-Loyalist Stronghold, somewhere in Russia**

**September 12, 2016, 16:26:01**

"Captain Price, there's someone on the line wanting to speak to you," Makarov said.

Price grabbed the handset from Makarov. "Who is it?"

"John, I don't have a lot of time, so I'll make this quick."

"Mac? I thought that you wouldn't –"

"That was before," Baseplate interrupted. "Something's new come up. Actually, two new things have come up."

"Okay…"

"First thing: We and the Americans received a message saying that eight men are the cause for this war. You're one of the men, and so is Soap. You're in even more danger now, John."

"Dammit!" Price said, hitting the wall. That drew the attention of some of the Ultranationalists and Loyalists, but he ignored them. "It must have been sent by Samantha!"

"By who?"

"Never mind. You probably won't believe the story anyway. What's the second thing?"

"Heavy enemy activity has been detected at a mine in the Owl Mountains in Poland. We're going to send in a strike force in two days at the most to try and destroy the site."

"And you're telling me this because…?"

"Well, you're behind enemy lines right now. It's possible to launch a pre-attack from where you are. Maybe it'll make the Phonies paranoid about their rear too."

"Okay. What're the coordinates?"

Baseplate told Price, who jotted them down. "Thanks, Mac. We won't let you down."

"Good luck as usual, son," Baseplate said before hanging up.

"So, who was it?" Makarov asked.

"Old army friend," Price replied. "We've got the coordinates of a place where there's a ton of enemies."

He gave Makarov the coordinates, who ordered one of the Ultranationalists to check it on a computer. The site turned out to be near the Książ Castle. At that moment, the rest of Task Force 935 strode in.

"What's happening?" Takeo asked after seeing everyone gathered around the computers.

"We got a tip of a site with high enemy activity," Price answered. "We're going to launch an attack on it soon."

"Awesome! I'm gonna kill so many clone freakbags!" Dempsey cheered as he pumped the air.

Nikolai the Drunk uncapped his vodka bottle (big surprise there). "Want some vodka with that?"

Richtofen went over to the computers. "Vhere is zhis…site?"

"Owl Mountains, Poland," Price answered. He stepped back to let the Nazi, as well as Soap, Yuri and Nikolai the Pilot, to see for themselves. Richtofen, after viewing the screen, cocked his head to one side. "Interesting. Zhat site is vhere Der Riese stood."

"Der Riese?" Soap asked before realizing what it was. "Oh yeah, that place where you worked and created zombies."

"Mac said the site is now a mine," said Price. "Does that ring a bell?"

Richtofen thought about that for a minute. "Vell, most of the complex vas underground bunkers. You do have to remember zhat zhe Allies vere rampaging vith zheir bombers. So zhey could be searching through Der Riese."

"Okay…but there were already bunkers, why would you tear it all up?" Yuri said thoughtfully. "You could just explore the bunkers like normal."

"Richtofen, was there anything that was really really deep?" Nikolai the Pilot asked.

"Hmm…" Richtofen mused. Then the penny dropped. "Oh…oh, scheisse. Ve had a large storage of 115 deep underground. It vas fortified to vithstand as many veapons as possible. But zhat was decades ago…"

"That's it! The dishonorable Samantha must want the 115!" Takeo said urgently.

"And with it, create more zombies…shit!" Dempsey swore.

***Dramatic music plays again.* The final chapter will be the most mind-blowing yet, so be sure to check back!**

**If you'd like, review and tell me your thoughts on this latest update!**


	8. The Grand Finale

**It's here! The final chapter (plus an epilogue) is here! After much thought, typing and editing, too ;). **

**Thanks to batman 2.0 and Coolguyforever for reviewing! Yes, in reply to you both (and no doubt others as well), there are ZOMBIES in this chapter! So enjoy!**

Chapter 8

**Owl Mountains, Poland**

**September 13, 2016, 7:12:23**

Samantha's soldiers had struck gold in the form of Element 115.

After two days of non-stop drilling, mining, and shovelling, Der Riese's underground storage of the strange element had been penetrated. If the year had been 1944, the same task would have taken them weeks or even months. But technology had rapidly evolved since Der Riese had been built.

Samantha smiled. The Plan was starting.

She had the Phonies in charge of the massive excavators to start bringing up 115 to the surface. They complied, of course. Bucketload after massive bucketload dumped rocks containing the element on the ground. They were just as Samantha remembered them – rocks that were tainted orangish-red and with a slight blue glow emanating from them.

Once all of the rocks containing the element were excavated, Samantha focused her energy on the links to the Phonies. She directed all of them to the pile of 115, had the ones with guns make sure that their weapons were ready…and terminated her control of them.

The Phonies had been created for the sole purpose of fighting and killing anyone around them. Samantha had just commanded them, directing them against an enemy. But now, with her control terminated, the Phonies were reduced to their primitive ways, which resulted in them turning on one another. Obviously, the ones with guns had an upper hand, but the unarmed Phonies had some fight in them too. Strangling, shooting, kicking, punching, and more all took place at the pile of 115. That was Stage 1 of The Plan. Stage 2 would arrive very, very soon.

Sure enough, one of the Phonies that had been killed was resurrected by the 115 as a zombie. It immediately attacked Phonies that were still alive, creating more of the undead. As each zombie was created, Samantha took control of it, and eventually she had an undead army once again.

Stage 3 was next. She directed the groaning and moaning zombies to a cloning machine that had been set to auto-run before the termination of control. The machine whirred as it replicated the undead, sucking up dirt for the atom rearranging process. Now there were hundreds of, almost a thousand, zombies at her disposal. She moved them into the mining complex's central buildings and telepathically shut the doors.

Now it was waiting time.

**One hour later**

"Four minutes until we reach the HVT!" the Osprey pilot called out.

"All right, you heard him! Check your weapons and gear! We don't want to screw this up!" Sandman ordered.

Team Metal was part of Alpha Force, assaulting the Phony mine that was the HVT from the north. Bravo Force, meanwhile, would attack from the west. Ten F-22s would also pelt the mine's defenses with JDAMs to soften up the Phonies. This was the Allies' biggest opportunity to counterattack since the entire mess started almost two weeks ago, and no expenses were being spared.

"Three minutes!"

Frost heard the roars of the F-22s as they streaked past the fleet of aircraft. Hopefully the bombing run would take out most of the defenses and make their job easier.

"Two minutes!"

Everyone in the Osprey tensed. At this time they were in range of AA guns. One soldier muttered a prayer that they wouldn't get hit. Actually, everyone was doing the same in their minds. But Frost didn't hear anything except the drone of rotors and engines that had accompanied them ever since they left Britain. He was thoroughly confused – the Phonies had to be making an effort to down them, right? He gave a mental shrug. Maybe they were keeping it quiet for some unknown reason.

"One minute!"

Frost did a final, nervous check of his SCAR-L. To the right of him, Truck was doing the same. Normally Grinch would be on Frost's left, making some joke, but he was still back in Britain with his broken arm.

The Osprey landed with a dull thump. Its inhabitants stood up and exited onto the grass. Immediately Frost tensed for bullets to come flying his way, but nothing happened. Not a sound was heard.

"Stay alert! They might be playing dead," Sandman warned.

Alpha Force cautiously advanced into the complex. It was deadly silent. Frost warily eyed the MG posts that lay directly in front of them. Everyone was randomly going prone and jerking to the side, anticipating a hail of lead to come at them. But Alpha Force got to the first enemy line of defense in one piece without incident.

"What the hell is going on?" Truck said. Not only were the MG posts abandoned, but not a single Phony was in sight. There were smoking craters from the F-22s' JDAMs, but that was it. Sandman got through to Overlord to ask about this.

"Overlord, this is Metal 0-1. HVT seems to be abandoned. No sign of hostiles."

"Copy that, Metal 0-1. Bravo Force has reported a similar situation. Continue investigating and come up with any intel you can find."

"Roger." Sandman signed off.

* * *

><p>"This is stupid," Dempsey growled. "We came here to kick some clone-freak ass, not take a walk!"<p>

Task Force 935, the Loyalists and some of the Ultranationalists that Makarov had given up had landed half an hour ago, a safe distance away from the HVT itself. To preserve stealth, Price had opted for everyone to walk to the complex from a distance rather than land right outside its gates. It proved to be a good move after several F-22s had roared through the air and bombed the complex. Had they had landed close to the mine and gone in immediately, they would have been caught by the bombs.

The F-22s also told them that the Allied strike force was going to arrive soon. "Damn! I didn't think they would have done it so soon!" Price said.

"Should we turn back? Mac said we're wanted by the Yanks and Britain," Soap said in a worried tone.

Price gave a bitter laugh. "We've been wanted by everyone ever since we killed that bastard Shepherd," he said. "A few more hours won't hurt."

"Plus, zhere could be…objects…zhat only ve have experience vith," RIchtofen added. Evidently, by "objects" he meant zombies.

"Yeah, I ain't running away like a coward!" Dempsey proclaimed. "I dare them to try and take me. I'll tear them a new one!"

"American, they're fighting Samantha like us," Takeo interjected. "That makes them our honorable allies."

"Anyway, I think our loyalties will be shown once we kill those zombies," Price said.

* * *

><p>Moving deeper into the complex, Sandman had ordered for any doorway they passed to be kicked in and investigated. So far the most interesting thing they had found was a decaying and moth-ridden Nazi flag. But then they stumbled upon something completely extraordinary. Something none of them had seen.<p>

"The hell is this?" a soldier said.

Spread out before them was a huge pile of odd rocks. They had orange-reddish hues and glowed slightly. Some soldiers cautiously crept forward to take a closer look.

Truck suddenly stiffened. "Do you guys hear something?"

Frost strained his ears. He only heard the scuffling of his fellow soldiers shifting around.

"Everyone, quiet!" Sandman ordered. The scuffling immediately stopped, and Frost's ears picked up something. Something unnerving: the groaning of an animal.

"I think it's coming from in here!" a soldier beside yet another building said. His hand was on the doorknob.

"No! Don't…" Sandman began. But it was too late. With a click, the door was opened. Time seemed to stop for a second.

Then all hell broke loose.

Something that looked like a human (but was most definitely not, unless humans had decaying and bloody skin) burst out snarling and attacked the poor soldier who opened the door. He went down with a scream. More of the things came out of the building, equally revolting and bloodthirsty. Alpha Force stood in shocked silence before snapping into action.

Frost fired his SCAR-L into one of the things, watching its head explode and carcass topple. Several more soldiers were taken with cries of fear and agony, but it seemed like they would fight off these weird enemies. Then the doors of several more buildings around them burst open, releasing more hell.

"Frost! Behind you!" Frost turned around just in time to see one of the things reaching for him. Its skin was deathly pale with bloody gashes here and there; its eyes and teeth were yellow; and it had on a Phony uniform. Frost instinctively stabbed it with his combat knife, and it fell to the ground.

"Fall back! We need to get out of here before we're surrounded!" Sandman shouted frantically. The things were everywhere now. The surroundings blurred into a symphony of bullets, blood and death.

"Metal 0-1 to Overlord! We're being overrun by an unknown type of hostile! Request backup immediately!"

"Roger, Metal 0-1. Redirecting Bravo Force to your location."

"Oh god!" a soldier screamed. He was shakily pointed at the dead body of a fallen US soldier – or rather, the _reanimated_ body. What had been a young man before was now one of those ruthless things. It shook his head and gave a low, guttural snarl. Several soldiers almost fainted right there and then.

"Shit! This is getting crazy!" Truck shouted as he saw more of his fallen comrades get reanimated.

"Run! Just run!"

* * *

><p>"Vait. I hear somezhing," Richtofen said.<p>

The group stopped. "What is it, Doc?" Dempsey asked.

"I zhink it is…" Richtofen paused for a second. "…moaning."

"That means zombies!" Nikolai the Drunk said.

"Shit! We've got to pick up the pace," Price urgently said. "The lads in the strike force will have no idea what they are!"

Everyone started running, with Richtofen leading them. Gunshots and screams rang out, shattering the silence that had blanketed the complex only minutes before. Price got through to Nikolai the Pilot, who was with the choppers along with the other pilots.

"This is Price! The zombies have broken out! We need you and the others to get the choppers running and provide air support!"

"Ve're here!" Richtofen told them, and Price abruptly signed off.

There was a sea of zombies before them. Without thinking, everyone started banging away with their G36Cs. The Loyalists and Ultranationalists were a bit unnerved at the sight, but steely imitated Task Force 935.

The zombies had noticed their buddies dying, and turned around to face this new threat to them. Technically, it was Samantha who noticed them, but any which way the zombies attacked Task Force 935 and their comrades.

"Do not let zhem get near you!" Richtofen warned. Everyone complied. He was, after all, the expert on zombies.

"We need to link up with the strike force!" Soap shouted over the gunfire. "That way we're both on the same side and help them!"

"Sure, but first we have to get through this, mate," Price replied, waving his hand at the gigantic horde of zombies. They had an advantage over the strike force – instead of being disorganized and spread all over the place, they were in a firing line, dispatching zombies quickly and efficiently.

"We could go around," Yuri proposed as he shot off a zombie's arm. "Shouldn't be too hard, as long as we stick together."

The sound of rotors signalled the arrival of their air support. A salvo of missiles from the helicopters streaked into the mass of zombies. Blood and guts sprayed upward in a fountain of gore, which Richtofen found most amusing.

"We're going to head right and circle these zombies to link up with the Allies!" Price said to Nikolai the Pilot. "Make sure we're good!"

"Roger," the Russian said.

"Okay, let's go! To the right!" Price ordered. As everyone began running, a tendril of zombies stretched out from the main group to chase them. From above, it looked like one of the Milky Way's spirals stretching out. Nikolai the Pilot fired some rounds into them, just to ensure that they wouldn't endanger his comrades.

The zombie killers were feeling very much at ease, doing what they did best.

"Slaying zombies since 1945! Oo-rah!" Dempsey said happily.

"Even drunk, I'm too strong for you!" Nikolai the Drunk shouted as he shot a zombie.

"The power of my ancestors runs through my veins!" said Takeo as he fragged some undead.

"His head exploded. Such…SUCH JOY!" Richtofen cackled as he, you guessed it, headshot a zombie.

* * *

><p>Team Metal and the rest of Alpha Force were in full-scale panic. Almost half of them had been taken by the things. There were so many that Frost didn't even have to aim to kill some. Some of them were pitifully slow, but others were as fast as a human. As they beat a hasty retreat, someone said, "Look! Hinds!"<p>

Frost swore. "God damn it, it's not enough that they send us these monsters?" He, like others, immediately assumed the choppers were Phony.

However, a surprise was in store. The helicopters launched a missile salvo right into the midst of the horde of things. Chunks of meat fountained skyward in a gruesome display.

"Whoa! Awesome! They're on our side!" Truck cheered before hastily shooting a thing charging at him.

"We're not done yet! Keep on moving!" Sandman shouted. They were almost to the defense line that they had passed less than half an hour ago. It felt like decades since.

Suddenly, some of the creatures on the far left died with unearthly shrieks as bullets slammed into their bodies. A hail of lead ripped into the horde's flank. Frost saw a group of men emerge with guns blazing.

"Friendlies! They're friendlies! Thank you Jesus!" a soldier cried out. A cheer rang out from Alpha Force as the friendlies were assimilated into their ragtag line. Sandman, however, was shocked to see a familiar face among them.

"Price? What are you doing here?"

"Saving your ass from these zombies, that's what!" Price replied. He grunted as he stabbed a marauding undead.

"Wha – zombies?"

"Yeah, I should tell you the story later. Oh yeah, glad to see no one here shot down our helicopters."

Sandman was about to reply when another cheer rang out. "Bravo Force is here!"

The master sergeant gritted his teeth in determination. "All right everyone, let's take these bastards down!" he roared. Buoyed by their reinforcements, the Allied soldiers cheered once again before attacking the zombies with newfound strength and vigor.

At first, the two parties seemed to be at a stalemate. There were still plenty of zombies charging at the Allies, but following Richtofen's advice and instructions, they prevented the undead from getting too close. Slowly, with help from the friendly Hinds, the zombies began to be pushed back. The Allies cautiously advanced, keeping a wary eye on the distance between them and the zombies. Corpses covered the ground, with pools of blood and meat chunks everywhere.

"We're doing it!" Truck said. "We're winning!"

The zombie killers hurled not only bullets, but also taunts and comments at the zombies as well.

"You meatheads too stupid to quit?"

"So much death, so quickly, like Eastern Front all over again!"

"I am warrior!"

"I long to bathe naked…IN YOUR BLOOD!" That one drew the questioning stares of many.

The Allies methodically continued to dispatch the undead, using their own aggressive nature against them. The Hinds fired round after round into them. Finally, the last small group of zombies keeled over, dead. Everyone stood in stunned silence, surveying the scene of carnage, death and destruction before them.

"Holy Jesus," Frost said. "We made it. We survived!" His Team Metal comrades nodded.

Task Force 935 also nodded. Then a sudden realization hit them all, and got blurted out in unison.

"We beat Samantha!"


	9. Epilogue

Epilogue

The war with the Phonies, or "Phony War" as it was later called, ended on September 13, 2016, with the sudden and unexplained disappearance of all Phony forces in Europe and Russia. Theories for this range from a top-secret government superweapon to the Phonies actually being aliens and suddenly going back to their home planet.

During the Phony War, tensions between Russia and the Allies dramatically decreased as both sides fought for their own survival. The two sides made peace with each other on September 14, 2016. Russian President Boris Vorshevsky stated that, "I deeply regret that it took a war with an unknown enemy to show us that peace and unity is better than destruction and hostility."

The Loyalist-Ultranationalist war promptly resumed on September 15, 2016, even though many countries had tried to pressure the two sides into peace with each other. That war eventually ended in January 2017, with the death of Vladimir Makarov.

All charges against Task Force 935 were dropped after word of their help in the Owl Mountain incident got to Allied governments. Task Force 935, along with Team Metal and other survivors were sworn to secrecy over the entire matter.

No solid evidence of Samantha's involvement was ever found. However, there was a handwritten note in the Group C outpost, found when Task Force 935 investigated. It simply read:

You win. For now.

**So there it is. The ending of "Cat and Mouse"! Thank you to everyone who read, reviewed and/or favorited this! I never expected this much positive feedback for my second fanfic :D. Because of this, I've made another Task Force 935 fanfic, "Black to the Future"! Yay!**


End file.
